Tests of a Child

Chapter 2 –

Geoin's POV:

Anger swept through my body as I pulled the taller boy closer to me. "What did you say about my mother?" I demanded, my eyes narrowing up at him.

He smirked at me, "Your mother was a whore." Defiantly, he stared into my eyes. After several moments, though, something seemed to click within him. I didn't quite notice though. He was beginning to blur out of my line of vision in a strange, yet emotional sea of red.

He began to stutter, nothing he said made any sense? I held him there for a moment before his legs collapsed and I allowed him to fall through my fingers too the ground. Taking my eyes from boy useless boy on the ground unconscious to the children around me, I sweeped my eyes across their faces. Disbelief and fear was etched into every feature, as if they couldn't understand what was happening.

I didn't really understand either. The outline of their bodies were colored with red. Yet, I didn't care. What I was feeling wasn't anger; it was something beyond it.

When I took a step towards them they fled like frightened rabbits; and I, just like a fox, gave chase. It seemed like I only took a couple of steps. Every part of my body quivered in anxiety; every nerve felt like it was on fire. Everything felt so slow, as if everything else was weighted down by gravity; except me. Quickly walking through the pack of students, I headed them off at the front, forcing them to stop. They stated at me with their sun scorched faces and charred skin.

I raised my middle finger to the group of children. "Don't you ever talk about me mother!" I screamed. Tears fell from my eyes as the red, demon audience nodded their heads vigorously in confirmation. Several of their eyes shifted to the side and back to me. Analyzing each person, I realized to late that Fredrick was gone from the rest of the students.

I turned my head to a sound behind me, but something collided into my head. My vision cleared from the burning red before it turned completely black.

XXX

I awoke to the sound of rain pittering against a window. My eyes opening and strained to adjust to the flood of light, momentarily blinding me. White washed walls held several pictures of flowers and dogs. Above me, the ceiling held several different types of lights and equipment.

Where was I?

I turned my head to the side, searching. The subtle light from the window didn't tell much in the way of time, since clouds blocked the sun.

Trying to remember the day before, I could only remember a blinding red. I tried to sit up, to clear my head of the fog, but a sharp pain from the side of my head enveloped me, dipping me in to momentary nausea.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you kid." I jumped, sending my body into another bought of pain and sickness. Slowly turning my head, a men sitting a chair in the far corner of the room came into vision. I starred at him for a moment. He was sporting a business suit, with a book held quite carelessly in hand. Beside him sat a brief case. This man scared me. Everything about him just sent my head into a frenzy, like I needed to escape. I sat up slowly, my eyes never leaving him. Using my right arm to support myself, I sat up fully.

Why was I stuck in room with a person like this? Surely the nurse staff wouldn't allow a man like this just waltz into my room.

"Mr. Doe?" His voice rang with amusement as he watch my reaction."I am Tod Distant, remember?" I slowly nodded my head in acknowledgment, not entirely trusting my voice. "I am the lawyer from the orphanage."

I froze. I had only met this man once before, when I was much younger. Maybe 7? He had asked me a lot of questions before yelling at me for not answering any of them, then leaving.

Distant rose from his chair, taking his book with him. He crossed the room to my bed while still keeping a respectful distance away. His crossed arms, wrinkling his suit at the arms and chest. "I was given the task of giving you the verdict of your trial."

My eyes widened slightly at him. What was this man talking about?

He sighed, bring up the hand that didn't hold the book to his temple slightly rubbing it, as if it hurt. "You have no idea what's happening, do you?" I gave it a moments thought. I guess I remembered something. Stern voices, but it was all foggy. I shook my head, wincing a bit. No, I remembered nothing. He sighed again, muttering. "I was told that the orphanage explained everything to you." He paused, looking ways a bit, as if he was thinking, before looking at me again. "I guess it's not surprising. You were suffering from a major concussion for two weeks.

I watched him turn around and walk back to chair, set his book on it before pulling out his brief case. Distant crouched over it while opening it and pulling something out. Standing up he walked over to me again, tossing the manila folder on to my lap. I looked at it, then up the man beside me, who nodded. It was a rather thin folder. Cautiously, I opened the cover.

My vision became red and I immediately became overwhelmingly nauseous. Pushing a hand to my mouth, I scrambled out of bed running for the trash can on the other side of the room. Just barely making it, I threw up what ever hey had fed the last couple of weeks. I hope it hadn't tasted this bad going down as it was coming up.

I finished the staff at the hospital were only giving me the barest necessities to live. Slowly taking my head from the lip of the trash can, I wiped my mouth and nose with the back of my hand, which I wiped onto the front of my hospital gown.

"Interesting," Apparently had moved closer to me as I was retching up everything in my stomach. I panted as I sat, crouched on the floor. Dizzy and confused, I felt him put a hand on the middle of my back. "I never thought this would be your reaction." He picked me up and carried me to the white bed. Setting me down, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to me. The man went back for the chair and pulled it to the side of my bed. Grabbing the folder and its contents from the foot of the bed, Distant sat down.

There was only one piece of paper in the folder. Just remembering the picture made me sick to my stomach. Piles of blood soaked bodies were laying on the ground. Yet, that wasn't why I had thrown up. It was because I knew each and everyone of them.

Opening the folder, Distant grabbed the gruesome picture and allowed the folder to fall to ground, out of the way. After looking at the picture himself he turned it towards me. Violently turning my head away from the gory sight, I felt myself become sick again.

"Mr. Doe." His stern voice shook me to the core. "Do you know who these people are?"

I nodded my head.

"Who are they?"

I remained silent.

"Mr. Doe," His voice rose with every word. "WHO ARE THEY?"

I shook my head, despite the dizziness. My hands found their way to my face, covering it from the humiliation. I was sobbing, thick fat tears ran through my fingers.

I heard Mr. Distant stand from the chair. "I'll tell you who they are." His voice was gruff. "They were your classmates."

Please, no.

"You killed every last one of them."

I shot my head up at the accusation. NO! There was no way! Even though I couldn't remember, I knew that I would never be able to do something like this. It was true that I hated them, but I could never kill them. I made eye contact with lawyer. His face was fierce, unforgiving. It was the same look her had given me when I was 7.

"Three weeks ago," He began. "After lunch, you decided to sit underneath the tree way in back." He went back to his brief case pulling out another file, this time it was thick. Flicking through it for a moment he pulled out a set of photos. He showed me the first one. There I was. Sitting underneath the large tree, several feet away from the play ground.

"Several kids came up to you, surrounded you." He pulled out a picture with children around the tree."One of them went up to and started harassing you." Another photo, but I was remembering the incident for my self and needed no visualization. "Minutes later you pulled one of the boys down and he collapsed on the ground. Fortunately he survived you tirade." More pictures, more memories. "They tried to run from you, but you cut them off somehow. As you preceded to yell at the group of students one of the boys came up from behind you. You apparently noticed and turned your head, but was hit with a large stick." Distant set one photo after another in front of me. "After you picked yourself of the ground you killed them. All of them. When the teachers tried to interfere you attacked them brutally."

Tears had continued to flow out my eyes. No, this couldn't be right.

"You were angry from being bullied by your peers and lashed out." He put the last photo in front me. Which was the body of corpses. "It ended in a complete massacre of these children."

I squeezed my eyes closed. I couldn't believe this was happening to me.

"Because you were under extreme pressure and circumstances the judge was lenient with the ruling." He paused a moment before continuing in a cold, hard voice. "Mr. Geoin Doe, you have been sentenced to 150 years in prison, no bail for the slaughter of several dozens of children."

My eyes flew open. Everything around me swirled in circles. I had heard what Mr. Distant had said, but the severity of the words were still suspended in my brain. Then, all at once it came crashing down. I had killed my peers. I was going to jail. This couldn't be happening. Oh, God!